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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28122897">Unseen</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/imnewintown/pseuds/imnewintown'>imnewintown</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Gen, One-Sided Attraction, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Toph Beifong, Toph Beifong-centric, Toph is bad at feelings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-11 00:15:12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,527</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28122897</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/imnewintown/pseuds/imnewintown</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Toph's perspective of various ATLA events. Pretty true to canon. Will be updated sporadically</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aang &amp; Toph Beifong, Sokka/Suki (Avatar), Toph Beifong &amp; Sokka, Toph Beifong &amp; The Gaang</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Walls</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Toph's perspective of the Serpent's pass.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Toph had always been good at building walls. Even before she learned how to Earthbend, she had been quietly constructing them around herself. It wasn’t hard, her parents provided the material. She never realized how lonely her life was until she left everything she had ever known to travel with the Avatar. With her friends, she mentally corrected herself. All these people had meaning to her now. It’s sad to say, but these were the first real friends she had ever had. This was the first time she knew what it felt like to not be lonely. For the first 12 years of her life, she was surrounded by guards, so there were always people around, but no one her age. She could hardly count her earthbending instructor or the idiots she fought in the rink as friends. Her parents were too busy for her, and although the badgermoles were fun,calling them her friends felt… pathetic. But Aang listened to her, and Katara worried about her, and Sokka… well he seemed to think the same way she did, and he laughed at all her jokes. Even Appa and Momo were a strange comfort to her, with their animal smell and distinct noises. The thought of Appa pained her. She knew Aang no longer blamed her, but she still felt like a failure. The sooner they made it to Ba Sing Se and got him back, the sooner she could let go of this feeling. She tried to take her mind off it by focusing on the heartbeats of her friends and their latest companions. The sound usually comforted her into sleep, when her thoughts would not leave her alone. It helped her understand the people around her in a way they often didn’t know. </p><p>She knew Aang liked Katara. A lot. She was pretty sure any idiot within a 15 mile radius knew Aang loved Katara. Toph always knew when Katara was braiding her hair because it made Aang’s heart do a small jump every time. Watching two morons in love was annoying for anyone, but especially when you could actually sense the changes that their bodies went through. Toph liked Twinkle Toes, but not like that, not like that at all. She thought of him as kind of a little sister, or a lost baby bird. But somehow he made her happier when he was around, even though he harbored his own grief quietly. Toph was not the only one in the group who was good at building walls. The only one of them who seemed incapable of it was Katara. She faced her emotions like she faced everything, with bold courage and honesty. Toph didn’t think there was anything Katara was afraid of, except failing people she cared about. Her heart rate increased anytime Appa was mentioned, then she’d glance in Aang’s direction with concern. </p><p>Sokka had walls too. They were made of jokes and sarcasm, like hers were, but he had remembered to build a gate. She hadn’t thought of that. Toph’s walls were old and strong. When she made their foundation, she never thought there would ever be a reason to let someone in. She didn’t have anyone to let in. But now it was too late. Her walls were built, and she still wasn’t ready to tear them down. Sokka had his walls and his gate carefully guarded, but Toph had seen him let Katara, Aang, and now even her in. His gate had been swung wide open since the Kyoshi warrior had joined them. She could feel both their hearts racing, but they were far away. The noise filled her ears, and her stomach curled with a quiet jealousy. She could feel the heat rise in both of them, and although they were too far away for her to make out their words, she was pretty sure she could guess the content of their “conversation”. </p><p>Suddenly, the noise became unbearable, and Toph wanted to scream. She collapsed her earth tent and sat on a log near the fire, with her knees pulled into her chest, balancing precariously. Normally she hated not touching the ground, but she wanted to be blind for a little while. She hated feeling jealous, but the worst part was, she actually liked Suki. She was smart and put Sokka in his place. She had melded into their group easily. Toph knew that Sokka didn’t like her the way she wanted him to. She was too young, and his heart rate beat steadily when he looked at her. But still, she had allowed her crush to grow, because there was no harm and no competition. When Suki kissed his cheek at Full Moon Bay, that was the happiest Toph had ever seen him, and his heart rate roared in her head. It made her remember why she built her walls in the first place. She couldn’t believe she had let some idiot with a boomerang get to her. Well no more. Toph had spent her whole life suppressing her emotions, her true self. t was time to get back into the habit. </p><p>She heard a rustling nearby, so she gently placed her feet on the ground. Sokka and Suki were back on their respective bed rolls, neither of them asleep but somehow their energy had changed. Toph reminded herself that she didn’t care, and laid back down on the ground. She was about to pull up her earth tent when she heard quiet laughter. It was Twinkle Toes, in his sleep. She heard him murmuring Appa’s name, then his breath caught in his throat. Katara was asleep, normally she was the leader of the “Comfort the Traumatized Child” team. Looks like Toph would have to do. She walked as lightly as she could over to him, and gently stroked his bald head. She was surprised at how smooth it was. Aang muttered something unintelligible in his sleep, then rolled over, his breathing slowly beginning to return to normal. Toph realized she was smiling. Maybe it would be harder to go back to her old ways than she thought. She decided to sleep near Twinkle Toes, just in case. She didn’t put up a tent, because she didn’t want to risk waking him up. Instead, she slept under the open stars that she couldn’t see, as the  moon gazed down at her with sympathetic understanding. </p><p>____________________________________________________________________________</p><p>Toph had never seen a woman give birth before. ‘You’ve never seen anything before,’ responded the annoying sarcastic voice in her head. Piss off, go annoy someone else. Anyway, it was different. She could sense the nervousness of everyone in the tent. Katara’s voice was soothing and strong, but her heart was pounding. Of course, that was nothing compared to the heart rates of the parents. Even Suki was tense. I guess even warriors fear something. The mother’s heart rate was the loudest but it was difficult to decipher because it blended with the child. There was something oddly beautiful about the fast and light sound of the baby’s heartbeat. Something… hopeful. She heard Sokka faint as he went in the tent and grinned. Good, something to hold over the wuss. Toph suddenly remembered the other person waiting outside the tent with her. Aang’s heart beat at it’s normal, slightly quick pace. He always reminded her of a bird. His breathing was calm, but he seemed far away from her. Toph remembered him crying in his sleep and felt a band tighten around her heart. Ok just because I’m forgetting about love doesn’t mean I have to abandon my friends. She walked over and gave him a gentle punch to his arm as she sat down. “You did it Twinkle Toes.” </p><p>Aang glanced up at her quickly, confused. “What did I do this time?”</p><p>Toph laughed. It felt good to release the tension that had been building since they lost Appa. “I don’t know, maybe saved us from a giant serpent and brought us to Ba Sing Se.” </p><p>“Oh, that” </p><p>“Yeah, that. Thanks to you, that little baby is going to be safe with her parents behind the wall. They wouldn’t have made it without you.” Toph put a hand on his shoulder. Oh spirits she was going soft. </p><p>Aang gave her a small smile. “You helped too. And Katara’s the one delivering the baby.” </p><p>Toph could tell there was still something stuck inside him. Some wall he was keeping up. Maybe she wasn’t the best one to help tear it down, when she was still living behind her own. </p><p>“Yeah, yeah, we’re all great, but I’m proud of you.” </p><p>His smile came back a little bigger, “Thanks Toph.” Suddenly he seemed to remember something, and laid his head back down on his arms. She decided to leave him alone for a while. Toph didn’t want to push him too hard and emotions weren’t her strong suit.</p><p>Sokka came back out of the tent, obviously still woozy, and dropped down beside them. The trio waited in companionable silence until it was interrupted by loud cries. She heard Katara excitedly cry “It’s a girl!” </p><p>Toph turned to Sokka, smirking. “So you wanna go see the baby or are you going to faint like an old lady again?” </p><p>“No, no I’m good this time.” The two of them entered the tent together, even though it didn’t really give Toph a better view. She heard Aang’s soft footsteps follow behind Katara. Even Toph couldn’t help but be moved by the gentle scene. Sokka said something stupid of course. She realized Aang was crying again, but this time, tension seemed to go out of him with it. They named the baby Hope, which seemed appropriate. Toph felt a sudden heaviness in her gut at the little happy family. At least someone is proud to have a daughter. Before she could stop it, that stupid voice was back in her head. ‘Maybe your parents would have been happy to have a normal daughter. Maybe if you weren’t blind, they wouldn’t have locked you away.’ She clenched her fists. Enough. My blindness makes me who I am, if they can’t accept a daughter who isn’t perfect, then they are shit parents. End of discussion. Toph realized everyone except the family was leaving the earth tent and quickly followed them, trying to leave her thoughts behind.</p><p>Aang and Katara were hugging and crying again. Typical, she thought, with a roll of her eyes. Both their hearts calmed down once they separated, and a sense of peace seemed to fall between them that had been missing the past couple of weeks. She’d never admit, but she was glad Aang was going to find Appa. It would make him happy, and his happiness was important to her. She was stupid like that. Toph said something quippy and punched Aang again. She could practically feel him smiling at her. Things were going back to normal. </p><p>Toph heard Suki and Sokka talking again. She was leaving. A small part of Toph was sad, another part relieved. Then she remembered she didn’t care. Sokka kissed Suki, their heart rates out of control, both of them flushing. A small breath went through both their noses at the same time. Fuck. She did care. </p><p>Toph was used to loneliness. It was like the dark to her. She had heard people talk about colors and light, but those things meant nothing to her. Before, love was like colors to her: something she didn’t experience, but also something she didn’t need. Loneliness while actually being alone was kind of numbing. A constant little ache she had learned to ignore. But experiencing loneliness with her best friends around her? Oh Spirits it was like she was being stabbed in the gut. Her throat burned, and she turned away, even though that did nothing to hide the truth from her.</p><p>At least Suki was leaving, then this feeling could go away with her. She was glad Suki hadn’t held that kiss on the cheek (that was meant for Sokka) against her. With another blow to the chest she realized why. Toph was no competition. She was a child. And Sokka kissing Suki proved that. Toph hugged Suki goodbye, and wondered why she didn’t hate her. She wasn’t even really jealous of her, just… hurt. </p><p>Right then and there, Toph decided that after the solar eclipse, she would leave her friends. Her family, a small quiet voice whispered in her head. She chose to ignore it. She would help them defeat the Firelord then she was out. Back to her old ways. But for real this time. But where?, whispered that quiet voice again. Back home? To her parent’s? No. That was no home of hers. Toph had no home. She was free of that place and never going back. Maybe she could travel alone. Yeah that sounded good. See the world, on her own, no rush or mission to focus on. She smiled at the thought. Could she really go back to being alone again? Damn, that quiet voice was just as annoying as the mean, sarcastic one. Still a small seed of doubt was planted in her mind. </p><p>When she was a child, her parents used to only give her plain cooked rice. She could smell the other foods on the table, but they always coddled her (‘or maybe punished her’). She couldn’t say that she knew there was other food, that would be too suspicious. Instead, one day, she simply refused to eat the rice that was before her. The servants tried everything to coax her into eating it, but she shoved it away. In desperation, her parents finally gave in, and offered her a moonpeach. The flavor was indescribable. She tried spicy noodles, and turtleduck, and bao bao and sweet pastries. She knew she could never go back to just plain rice again. Her parents had given into her. She had won. That helped give the courage to break other rules, until eventually she was living an entire secret life. </p><p>Maybe being alone was like plain cooked rice. She could survive it, but it wasn’t everything the world had to offer, Maybe she couldn’t go back to being all alone after she had found a family. She remembered the searing pain in her heart. Maybe Toph was stubborn enough to try. They just had to defeat the Firelord first. How hard could that be?</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Writing</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Sokka shows Toph how to write her name.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The color of the sky meant nothing to Toph. She was told it was blue, so she assumed that must be true. She was told Aang had tattoos on his head that were also blue, and that Sokka had bright blue eyes that matched his watertribe clothes. None of these things meant anything to Toph. What she did know, what she truly understood, were the things that the earth told her. The things that her feet and hands felt, they were true. So when Aang assured her that he did not blame her for the loss of Appa, and his heart did not falter, she knew it was true. When Katara told her she was beautiful, without a trace of dishonesty, she knew it was true.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She knew Sokka was handsome because of how girls reacted when he was around. Apparently his eyes were nice and his skin dark and handsome. Apparently he looked good with his hair down. But what Toph really knew to be true was the ridiculous creak in his laugh and the strong yet pliable feel of his bicep, as she clung to him in the sky. She knew his heartbeat was strong and the way that he carried himself had slowly changed as she knew him, as he gained confidence and responsibility. She knew he wanted to leave Ba Sing Se as much as she did, but that he felt duty bound to get Earth Kingdom soldiers for the invasion. At the same time, there was generally very little they could do throughout the day, so the group found themselves lounging around pretty often. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Normally, Toph wouldn’t have minded a break from travelling. Laying around was pretty much all her life had consisted of before. But now, anytime she had too much free time, she began to worry. About Appa, about the war, about her parents. She just couldn’t get her stupid brain to shut up. She spent as much time as possible training Aang or looking for Appa, but eventually she would find herself alone, with nothing to distract her. She wished she knew how to write so she could keep a diary. That's what Katara did. She could hear her sometimes late at night, scribbling away, but she always seemed calmer afterwards. Toph thought that maybe if she could get the thoughts down, they would stay out of her head. Or she could at least tear up the stupid piece of paper, and violence was always calming. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>In one of these anxious moments, Toph lay on her stomach, tracing in the dirt, pretending she was writing. She told the earth everything, even though it was just nonsense scribbles. It was doing such a good job of calming her that she didn’t hear Sokka walking up. “What are you doing?” he asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She jumped, then quickly earthbent her drawings away. “Nothing! Why did you sneak up on me?!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He held up his hands in defense,“Well sorry, normally you can tell when I’m coming cause of your magic earth powers geez!” Toph quietly cursed herself. He was right, she had gotten distracted. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whatever. What do you want Snoozles?” she asked, trying to deflect him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh nothing. I'm bored like the rest of us. Aang and Katara are training, so I figured I should come annoy you rather than them.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wow how thoughtful of you. Just admit you don’t like being alone with them.” Toph accused. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka spluttered. “I… I have no idea what you’re talking about.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh come on, even an idiot like you could pick up on the </span>
  <em>
    <span>tension</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” she laughed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I refuse to talk about my sister and best friend in this way! What were you drawing anyway? I wouldn't have thought you to be the artistic kind.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toph couldn’t come up with an answer fast enough. “I- I was uhh practicing earthbending.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toph could feel Sokka’s skeptical gaze on her. “If you say so Beifong.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey Sokka, do you think you could show me how to write my name?” As soon as the words left her mouth, Toph’s face burned bright red. <em>Why would she ask that? Spirits this was humiliating. </em></span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka didn’t see (or pretended not to see, but he was rarely so tactful) her reaction afterwards, and stroked his chin considering. “Yeah I guess I could trace it on the ground so that way you could see it.” He knelt down next to her, then started drawing in the dirt. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toph could vaguely feel the shapes he was making, until he took her hand, and traced the letters with her. Toph tried to focus on her name, rather than the feel of Sokka’s calloused hand gently guiding her own. “T-O-P-H. Toph. Now you draw it on your own.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She clumsily drew it with her own finger, then paused and placed her hand on the ground, and bent them upwards so her name stood out about an inch. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nice! You know you're so smart and competent, that sometimes I forget you can’t read or see.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toph’s face burned with anger and embarrassment. “Well you’re so stupid that sometimes I forget you can’t bend or fight at all!”  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka’s mouth fell open. “Hey I didn’t mean it as an insult! I said you were smart!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah and competent, like that’s such a shock! Thanks for reminding me that reading is supposed to be some easy thing that 5 year olds can do, and I’m so pathetic that I haven’t learned how to yet!” Toph turned away, as her unseeing eyes filled with tears. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka grabbed her hand, “Toph, please, I didn’t mean it like that. You impress me so much. You never let your blindness stop you, and you’re stronger for it. Even now, you're thinking of a way to learn how to read, to overcome any challenge. I’m sorry for hurting your feelings.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toph quickly brushed the tears of her face and sniffed. “Please, I don’t have feelings. And if I did, some loser like you couldn’t hurt them. But uh, I’m sorry too. You can be smart when you come up with battle plans. The group really needs you… and it’s a shame you can’t teach Aang tp earthbend because you're a better teacher than me.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka smiled and dramatically put a hand to his chest. “I cannot believe THE Toph Beifong just gave me a compliment. The honor. I shall remember this day always.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Toph punched his arm, “Just shut up and show me how to write my last name.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sokka bowed. “Of course madam,” he said with a smile. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The two knelt back down beside each other and continued to practice until Katara called them for dinner. Toph fell asleep easily that night, without her thoughts bothering her at all. </span>
</p>
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